The Dow Chemical Company

Dow Global Technolgoies LLC

W.r. Grace & Co. -conn.

Bp Chemicals Limited

Lee Spencer

Pak-Wing Steve Chum

Grant B Jacobsen

Peter L Wauteraerts

Jeffrey J Wooster

Fumio Matsushita

Miriam P Ripplinger

Peter N Nickias

Brian W Kolthammer

Jacquelyn A deGroot

Marc A Springs

Jozef Van Dun

Brian W S Kolthammer

Patrick J Schouterden

Akira Miyamoto

James C Stevens

Teresa Plumley Karjala

David R Wilson

Edmund M Carnahan

Deepak R Parikh

Daniel D VanderLende

David R Neithamer

Michael John Carney

Larry Alan Meiske

Ian M Munro

Keng-Yu Shih

Philip Howard

William R Van Volkenburgh

Kevin P Peil

Larry Duane Cady

Christopher James Frye

Larry A Meiski

Peter J Maddox

S Roy Partington

Peter S Williams

J Mark Winter

Blend compositions containing a novel homopolymer, the use of which allows the incorporation of more comonomer in the additional components of the blend (for the same overall density) resulting in increased tie molecule formation and improvement in properties such as ESCR, toughness and impact strength are disclosed. The homopolymers are important for applications where a high density is needed to ensure certain mechanical properties like abrasion resistance, indentation resistance, pressure resistance, topload resistance, modulus of elasticity, or morphology (for the chlorination of PE to CPE) and additional advantages such as melt processability. The blend can be obtained by dry or melt mixing the already produced components, or through in-situ production by in parallel and/or in series arranged reactors. These resins can be used in applications such as films, blow molded, injection molded, and rotomolded articles, fibers, and cable and wire coatings and jacketings and, various forms of pipe.

High density ethylene homopolymers and blend compositions

Disclosed is a novel ethylene copolymer by copolymerizing an ethylene and at least one comonomer selected from a compound represented by the formula HC&#x2550;CHR wherein R is an alkyl group or an aryl group, and a diene, by slurry polymerization process in the presence of a solid catalyst system comprising a support, a transition metal compound and an activator capable of converting the transition metal compound into a catalytically active transition metal complex.

Ethylene copolymer compositions

Blend compositions containing a novel homopolymer, the use of which allows the incorporation of more comonomer in the additional components of the blend (for the same overall density) resulting in increased tie molecule formation and improvement in properties such as ESCR, toughness and impact strength are disclosed. The homopolymers are important for applications where a high density is needed to ensure certain mechanical properties like abrasion resistance, indentation resistance, pressure resistance, topload resistance, modulus of elasticity, or morphology (for the chlorination of PE to CPE) and additional advantages such as melt processability. The blend can be obtained by dry or melt mixing the already produced components, or through in-situ production by in parallel and/or in series arranged reactors. These resins can be used in applications such as films, blow molded, injection molded, and rotomolded articles, fibres, and cable and wire coatings and jacketings and, various forms of pipe.

A polymer produced by a transition metal containing catalyst useful for the polymerization of &agr;-olefins is prepared by (A) forming in an inert atmosphere which excludes oxygen and moisture a slurry of (1) a porous inorganic oxide support material selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, or a combination of silica and alumina, said support material containing not greater than about 5 millimoles of hydroxyl groups per gram of support material and a particle size not greater than about 10 microns and a surface area of from about 50 to about 800 m /g in an inert organic liquid medium; (B) mixing said slurry with (2) an alkoxide and stirring the resultant mixture at a temperature of from about &minus;20&deg; C. to about 120&deg; C. for a time sufficient to saturate the surface of the support material; (C) mixing the product form (B) with (3) a titanium compound or a combination of a titanium compound and (4) a vanadium compound and stirring the resultant mixture at a temperature of from about &minus;20&deg; C. to about 120&deg; C. for a time sufficient to allow complete reaction of the titanium compound and the vanadium compound with the organomagnesium moieties remaining on the solid support; (D) mixing the product from (C) with an inert organic solution of (5) a Group IIIA metal alkyl halide at a temperature of from about &minus;20&deg; C. to about 120&deg; C. for a time sufficient to complete the reduction of the titanium and vanadium, if present, compounds to their final oxidation state. Ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymers which have greater than 17 percent high density fraction and a M /M ratio of less than about 3.6 are shown to be useful in making cast films which have good stretchability and good puncture resistance. Copolymers of the present invention having the specified properties are especially useful in making the films.

Silica supported transition metal catalyst

Disclosed is a novel ethylene copolymer by copolymerizing an ethylene and at least one comonomer selected from a compound represented by the formula H C&boxH;CHR wherein R is an alkyl group or an aryl group, and a diene, by slurry polymerization process in the presence of a solid catalyst system comprising a support, a transition metal compound and an activator capable of converting the transition metal compound into a catalytically active transition metal complex. The produced copolymer has a density of from 0.870 to 0.980 and a molecular weight distribution (M /M ) of from 3 to 10, and exhibiting GPC/FT-IR characteristics and CFC characteristics, both of which define a comonomer content distribution, wherein, in one aspect, the lower the molecular weight of a copolymer fraction in a molecular weight distribution of an ethylene copolymer, the lower the comonomer content of the copolymer fraction; and, in the other aspect, the higher the molecular weight of a copolymer fraction, the higher the comonomer content of the copolymer fraction, so that ethylene copolymer exhibits high impact strength and excellent ESCR properties. Further, the ethylene copolymer contains substantially no impurites such as a wax, a gel and the like. Thus, the ethylene copolymer and blend compositions therefrom can be advantageously used for the production of film, fibers, foams or sheets including blown film, cast films, laminate films, blow-molded articles, injection molded articles, pipes, coating materials for cables, and the like.

The invention relates to a polyolefin copolymer composition produced with a catalyst having a metallocene, complex in a single reactor for the polymer of an &agr;-olefin monomer with one or more olefin comonomers, and a molecule weight maximum which occurs in that 50 percent by weight of the composition which has the highest weight percent comonomer content. Preferably, the composition has a comonomer partitioning fact C which is equal to or greater than 1.10 or molecule weight partitioning fact M which is equal to or greater than 1.15. Preferred composition also have at least 0.01 long chain branches per 1000 carbon atoms along the polymer backbone. These compositions with reverse molecular engineering have. superior properties and are easily processable due to the simultaneous presence of the association of high molecular weight with high comonomer content and of long chain branching.

Polyolefin composition with molecular weight maximum occurring in that part of the composition that has the highest comonomer content

A polymer produced by a transition metal containing catalyst useful for the polymerization of &agr;-olefins is prepared by (A) forming in an inert atmosphere which excludes oxygen and moisture a slurry of (1) a porous inorganic oxide support material selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, or a combination of silica and alumina, said support material containing not greater than about 5 millimoles of hydroxyl groups per gram of support material and a particle size not greater than about 10 microns and a surface area of from about 50 to about 800 m,/g in an inert organic liquid medium; (B) mixing said slurry with (2) an alkoxide and stirring the resultant mixture at a temperature of from about &minus;20&deg; C. to about 120&deg; C. for a time sufficient to saturate the surface of the support material; (C) mixing the product form (B) with (3) a titanium compound or a combination of a titanium compound and (4) a vanadium compound and stirring the resultant mixture at a temperature of from about &minus;20&deg; C. to about 120&deg; C. for a time sufficient to allow complete reaction of the titanium compound and the vanadium compound with the organomagnesium moieties remaining on the solid support; (D) mixing the product from (C) with an inert organic solution of (5) a Group IIIA metal alkyl halide at a temperature of from about &minus;20&deg; C. to about 120&deg; C. for a time sufficient to complete the reduction of the titanium and vanadium, if present, compounds to their final oxidation state. Ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymers which have greater than 17 percent high density fraction and a M,/M,ratio of less than about 3.6 are shown to be useful in making cast films which have good stretchability and good puncture resistance. Copolymers of the present invention having the specified properties are especially useful in making the films.

Supported catalyst containing tethered cation forming activator

A supported catalyst component prepared from a support material and an alumoxane, containing 15-40 weight percent of aluminum from the alumoxane (based on the total weight of the support material and alumoxane), said supported catalyst component being obtained by heating said support material and alumoxane under an inert atmosphere at a temperature of from about 85 to about 250.degree. C. for a period sufficient to fix said alumoxane to the support material, to provide a supported catalyst component; wherein not more than about 10 percent aluminum from said alumoxane and present in the supported catalyst component is extractable in a one-hour extraction with toluene at 90.degree. C. using 10 ml toluene per gram of supported catalyst component; and a transition metal compound, and a process for the preparation of the supported catalyst.

Supported catalyst component, supported catalyst, their preparation, and

A dispersible ionic catalyst activator, comprising an insoluble substrate material having a correlated settling rate less than 0.03 cm/sec, and from 0.001 to 10 mmol/g of an ionic catalyst activator deposited thereon which is particularly adapted for use in a continuous, solution polymerization process.

Solution polymerization process with dispersed catalyst activator

Metal complexes corresponding to the formula: ##STR1## wherein: L independently each occurrence is a delocalized, .pi.-bonded group that is bound to M, containing up to 50 nonhydrogen atoms;

Supported biscyclopentadienyl metal complexes

A supported catalyst component for an olefin polymerization catalyst consisting essentially of a solid particulate support and a magnesium halide; and an olefin polymerization catalyst consisting essentially of a solid particulate support and a magnesium halide, a Group 4 or 5 transition metal compound, and a Group 2 or 13 organometallic compound, and wherein a majority of particles of the solid particulate support are in the form of an agglomerate of subparticles.

Supported olefin polymerization catalyst

Metal complexes useful as olefin polymerization catalysts corresponding to the formula: ##STR1## wherein: L is a delocalized, .pi.-bonded group that is bound to M, containing up to 50 nonhydrogen atoms;

Readily supportable metal complexes

A supported catalyst component for an olefin polymerization catalyst comprising a solid particulate support, a magnesium halide, and optionally a Group 4 or 5 transition metal compound, a Group 2 or 13 organometal compound, and an electron donor, wherein a majority of particles of the solid particulate support is in the form of an agglomerate of subparticles. A process for preparing this supported catalyst component. A catalyst composition comprising this catalyst component and a cocatalyst. An olefin polymerization process using such a catalyst composition.

Growing community of inventors

Pearland, TX, United States of America

Lee Spencer